Mittens for young children

ABSTRACT

Outerwear apparel for children consisting of mittens which stay on their hands during use. Each mitten comprises a hand portion joined to a cuff member and an elasticized member mounted externally on a wrist portion. The elasticized member is capable of being detachably secured around a child&#39;s wrist.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to outerwear apparel for children. Inparticular, the present invention relates to mittens for young childrenwhich will stay on their hands during use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A child's ability to enjoy outdoor activities in cold climates can behampered by inappropriate and restrictive outerwear. Parents and othercaregivers put a great deal of effort and expense to ensure that thechildren's hands stay warm and dry.

Often, pre-school children need the assistance of an adult to putmittens on their hands, since the children have not yet mastered how toplace the thumb properly into the thumb portion of the mitten or do notpossess sufficient dexterity due to age. In many children's mittens ofthe prior art, the thumb portion of the mitten protrudes outward fromthe palm portion. This placement of the thumb portion has a number ofdrawbacks. First, the placement makes it physically more difficult toput a mitten on the child's hand. Second, the placement often results inthe child's thumb ending up in the palm portion with the other fingers,which results in a loss of use of the opposable thumb, making itdifficult and frustrating for the child to hold an object such as a snowshovel or the like.

Younger children can often remove mittens that are not properly securedto their hands, which is dangerous in very cold weather. Unlike olderchildren and adults, the width of a young child's wrist is about thesame as the width of the hand. The young child's hand therefore cannot,by itself, prevent typical mittens from coming off.

In order to attempt to address this issue, many mittens of the prior arthave an elastic band attached around the wrist portion of the mitten,sewn between the mitten's lining and the outer layer. However this bandtight, thereby making entry of the hand difficult, although the banddoes help prevent the mitten from coming off. Some prior art mittensmake entry of the hand difficult but are not tight enough to prevent themitten from coming off. In addition, the band does not prevent snow fromentering into the mitten onto the child's wrist.

Knitted mittens are easier to place on the child's hand, since knittedmaterial is elastic in nature and conforms to the shape of the hand.Knitted mittens also have ribbing on the wrist, thereby making for asnug fit. However, a knitted mitten can easily be removed, either by thechild, or by a bulky jacket sleeve. In addition, knitted mittens tend tobecome wet when they come into contact with wet snow, putting thechild's hand at risk of freezing.

In order to retain maximum warmth, the children's mittens of the priorart typically possess a thick bulky lining. This lining often extendspast the wrist and up the arm, but is impeded by a bulky jacket sleevecuff, thereby resulting in the mitten being pushed off the hand. Themitten's bulky lining also tends to restrict movement and the ability ofsmall hands to grasp items, adding significantly to the generalfrustration of being dressed in bulky and restrictive outerwear. Thisfrustration sometimes leads the child to take off the mittens.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,507,043 (Howe) and 5,809,569 (Bruno et al.) eachdisclose an external attachment for securing the mitten onto a child'shand.

Howe's device is described as comprising a thin plastic tie thatencircles the thumb and wrist portions of a mitten. The device asdisclosed is unsuitable for use with children's mittens, as it isrestrictive around the thumb area. Furthermore, since part of the tieprotrudes from the wrist, it might accidentally catch onto objects, be adistraction for a curious child or even poke a child in the eye.

The device of Bruno et al. comprises two intertwined loops that eachclose with a hook-loop fastener such as Velcro™. A first loop securesthe thumb portion of the mitten and interconnects with a second loopthat ties around the wrist portion. This mitten is unwieldy, as itrequires adding more material to an already bulky mitten. It alsounnecessarily restricts thumb movement, and does not keep snow away froma child's wrist.

Canadian Patent Application No. 2504888 (Suchiro) discloses a waterproofmitten for young children. The hand and thumb areas of the mitten areinsulated. The mitten is secured to the child's wrist by an externalstrip of cloth that is attached to the mitten. Both ends of the strip goaround the wrist and are tied on the topside of the mitten. In addition,the cuff has a zippered opening to enable an adult to guide the child'shand into the mitten. This design suffers from a number of drawbacks.First, a tie system is cumbersome and difficult to apply given the timerequired for a young child to remain still while tying the strips. Thetie system may also come undone, leaving the ends dangling and posing adanger to the child. The zippered cuff does not prevent snow fromentering the wrist area. Furthermore, the zipper adds extra bulk, andmay come undone, leaving the child's hand exposed to the cold weather.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,415 (Deering et al.) discloses an insulated,waterproof child's mitten that comprises a cuff that extends all the wayto the elbow. The opening of the cuff is elasticized to prevent snowfrom entering. The wrist portion of the mitten also has an elasticmember that is sewn between the mitten's lining and the outer layer. Asnoted above, however, this elasticized feature of the wrist portionallows for the easy removal of the mitten by a small child, thus leavingthe hand exposed to cold.

Caregivers and parents typically become frustrated with the drawbacks ofprior art mittens and tend to resort to unconventional means of ensuringthe child's hands are protected from the cold, such as by placingmultiple mittens on each hand or by placing the mitten on the child'shand prior to wearing the coat, thereby limiting the child's ability toremove the mitten.

In addition, there is the problem of losing one mitten while the mittensare not in use. In some mittens of the prior art, bulky clips are addedto one side of each mitten, as a means to secure the mittens togetherfor storage. Unfortunately, such clips add more bulk to the alreadybulky mitten and constitute a potential danger for young children.

Given the above drawbacks, there is a need for a children's mitten thatis simple, streamlined and performs properly in cold weather. For thesafety of small children, the mitten should not use cords, strings orclips. The mitten should be easy to put on the child's hand, remainsecured, maintain the child's hand warm and dry, keep snow away from thewrist area, and allow for a reasonable range of hand and thumb movement.In addition, the mittens should be easy and safe to store together whennot in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The mittens of the present invention are specifically intended to beused by young children including babies, toddlers and children underabout the age of five years, although older children may also use thisinvention.

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a child'smitten comprising a thumb member and palm member joined together to forma hand portion. The hand portion comprises insulation attached to itsinner side. The hand portion is joined to a cuff member; the cuff membercomprises an opening with a first elasticised member attached about theperimeter of the opening. A second elasticised member is mountedexternally on a wrist portion of the mitten. The second elasticisedmember is capable of being fastened and unfastened, or detachablysecured, around a child's wrist.

The first elasticised member can either be sewn into the second outershell, or mounted externally on the cuff member, in which case, thesecond elasticised member is capable of being detachably closed by meansof hook-loop fastener such as Velcro™. The hand portion is preferablyinsulated with an ultra-thin lining, or a mixture of fleece and anultra-thin lining. In one embodiment, the hand portion forms a firstouter shell comprising rubberized nylon, and the cuff member forms asecond outer shell comprising nylon. The thumb portion is positioned toallow for greater manual dexterity and for allowing a child to place thethumb in the thumb portion correctly with minimal assistance from acaregiver such as an adult. The mitten comprises an inner surface and anouter surface; the palm member comprises a palm surface and backsidesurface; and the inner surface of the thumb member is positionedadjacent to the palm surface of the palm portion.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a child'smitten comprising a thumb member and palm member joined together to forma hand portion. The hand portion comprises insulation and a firstwaterproof outer shell and is joined to a cuff member; the cuff membercomprises a second waterproof outer shell having an opening with a firstelasticised member enclosing the opening. The first elasticised memberis sewn into the opening, and a second elasticised member is mountedexternally on a wrist portion of the mitten for securing the mitten ontoa child's hand. The second elasticised member is capable of beingdetachably closed. In one embodiment, the insulation is an ultra-thinlining. In addition, the thumb member is positioned below the palmmember.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided achild's mitten that comprises a thumb member and palm member joinedtogether to form a hand portion. The thumb member is positioned belowthe palm member, while the hand portion comprises ultra-thin insulationand a first waterproof outer shell. The hand portion is joined to a cuffmember that comprises a second waterproof outer shell having an openingwith a first elasticised member that encloses the opening. The firstelasticised member is sewn into the opening. A second elasticised memberis mounted externally on a wrist portion of the mitten for securing themitten onto a child's hand, and this second elasticised member iscapable of being detachably fastened to itself.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided apattern for forming a child's mitten comprising an elasticized cuffmember, a wrist band and a hand member; the elasticised cuff member isformed from an elastic and waterproof material having a general arcshape; the wrist band comprising a strip of waterproof material has arectangular shape, a hook-and-loop fastener and an elastic; the handmember comprises a shell and a lining; the shell is formed from a secondwaterproof material, comprising a backside member, a palm surface memberand a thumbside member; the backside member having a general closedU-shape; the palm surface member has a lower portion that is a generalclosed U-shape and an upper portion having a general thumb shape; thethumbside member has a lower portion that is a general rectangular shapeand an upper portion having a general thumb shape; the lining is made ofinsulation material of the same general shape as the backside member,the palm surface member and thumbside member. In one embodiment, thepattern includes a tab member for the wrist band. In another embodiment,the waterproof material is nylon, and the palm surface portion is madeof rubberized nylon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of examplewith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an underside view of a left hand mitten of thepresent invention with the wrist band unfastened;

FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of the mitten shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a top perspective view of a right hand mitten of thepresent invention with the wrist band fastened;

FIG. 4 illustrates the typical dimensions of a young child's hand;

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a sewing pattern for a child'sleft-hand mitten of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a sewing pattern of lining for thechild's mitten of FIG. 5; and

FIGS. 7 a and 7 b illustrate the dimensions of an assembled mitten basedon the sewing patterns of FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrate different views of a mitten (10) of the presentinvention. FIGS. 1 and 2 depict a left hand mitten and FIG. 3 shows aright hand mitten, the main difference being in the placement of thethumb member (20), as described below. As illustrated, the mitten (10)comprises a palm member (15), thumb member (20) and cuff member (25).The thumb member (20) has an inner surface (21) and an outer surface(22). Similarly, the palm member (15) has a palm surface (16) and abackside surface (17). The palm member (15) and thumb member (20)together form a hand portion (55). The hand portion (55) comprises afirst waterproof, water-resistant or water-repelling shell, while thecuff member (25) comprises a second waterproof, water-resistant orwater-repelling shell.

The hand portion (55) is insulated, preferably with an ultra-thinlining, or a combination of fleece and an ultra-thin lining. Theinsulation is not bulky. The term “ultra-thin lining” refers toinsulation material that reduces the bulk of the hand portion of themitten. One example of an ultra-thin lining contemplated in the presentinvention is Thinsulate™.

To help guide the child's thumb into place when inserting the hand, themitten (10) is designed, with the inner surface of the thumb member (21)situated adjacent the palm surface of the palm member (16), toaccommodate where a child's thumb naturally rests when the hand isextended. The positioning of the thumb member (20) enhances the ease inwhich the mitten is placed on the child's hand. This feature also allowsfor a reasonable range of thumb mobility; a child is better able tograsp small objects, such as a twig, or a snow shovel handle.

The cuff member (25) extends part way up the forearm. The mitten'sinsulation extends around the palm member (15) and, in one embodiment,stops adjacent the wrist area at seam (35), since any additional liningabove the wrist is typically unnecessary for the maintenance of warmth.In addition, additional lining may add unwanted bulkiness and conflictwith the child's jacket sleeve cuff, sweater sleeve cuff or the like(not shown). Given its relatively thin material, the cuff member (25)easily fits either over or under the jacket sleeve cuff. The cuffopening (30) of the cuff member (25) is elasticised, allowing for thecuff member (25) to stay in place around the jacket sleeve cuff, forexample, and prevent snow or ice from entering into the wrist portion ofthe mitten. For small children, it is important for the cuff opening(30) to be free from cords or strings, since these attachments tend tocatch onto objects, thereby posing a hazard to the child.

The cuff member (25) and palm member (15) meet at a seam (35) positionedat the wrist area. An elastic wrist band (40) is attached on theexterior of the mitten (10), such as at attachment location (50).Attachment location (50) is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 as beinglocated about the centre of the palm side of the seam (35), although itmay be located in any convenient location around the mitten. Anysuitable elastic material may be used as the elastic wrist band (40).

Optionally, the wrist band (40), which can be opened and closed with ahook-loop fastener (60, 65) such as Velcro™, includes a tab (45) at oneextremity. The tab (45) is placed for the assistance of another person,such as a caregiver, to detach the hook-loop fastener (60, 65) forremoval of the mitten (10).

When the wrist band (40) is open, the child's hand can easily be placedinside the mitten. Once the hand is in place, the wrist band (40) fitssnugly around the child's wrist, thereby securing the mitten (10) ontothe child's hand. An elasticised closing device allows the wrist band(40) to be adjusted so there is even pressure along the wrist band (40)around the wrist, helping to keep the mitten in place.

The mitten is said to be detachably secured in that the wrist band (40)can be fastened about the wrist when in use so as to secure the mittento the wrist. The fastened wrist ban (40) can be unfastened or adjustedas required.

The wrist band (40) on the left- and right-hand mitten allows for easeof storage when the mittens are not in use. For example, the wrist band(40) on one hand is looped closed, then the other mitten's wrist band issecured through the first mitten's wrist band. Alternatively, one mittenis placed on top of the other, then the wrist band (40) on one hand issecured around both mittens. In either embodiment, both mittens aredetachably secured together, thereby reducing the likelihood ofseparating one mitten from the other. In yet another embodiment, therespective wrist bands (40) are attached to each other with thehook-loop fasteners (60, 65) such that both mittens (10) are removablyattached to each other.

FIG. 4 shows the typical dimensions of a young child's hand. Thecircumference of the wrist is denoted by (100). The circumference of thehand at the base of the thumb is indicated by (110), while thecircumference of the hand at the palm is denoted by (120). The breadthof the four fingers is denoted by (130), while the hand length isindicated by (135). The length from tip of the thumb to the extremity ofthe hand, defined by an extended middle finger, is shown as (145). Thehand dimensions of a typical 2-year-old and a 3-4 year-old are shown inTable 1.

TABLE 1 Hand dimensions of a small child (inches) Part 2 year-old 3-4year-old 100 4.5 5 110 5.5 6 120 4.5 5.5 130 2 2.5 135 4 4.75 140 2.5 3145 1.5 2

As shown in Table 1, the difference between the circumference of a youngchild's wrist (100) and the circumference of the hand at the base of thethumb (110), is about 1 inch. In contrast, the difference for an adultis about 3 inches. Unlike adults, very young children tend to haverelatively more fat stored around their wrists. The circumference of ayoung child's wrist is therefore almost the same as that of the hand. Asthe child grows, and becomes more physically active, the fat naturallysubsides, leading to relatively slimmer wrists. In the case of mittensfor infants/toddlers, the circumference of the wrist (100) and that ofthe hand at the base of the thumb (110) differ only by 1 inch. Itfollows that the wrists of infants/toddlers are more prone to slip outof a mitten than the wrists of older children or adults.

The measurements for a 3-4 year-old child shown in Table 1, were usedfor the design of the sewing pattern of the mitten embodiment shown inFIG. 5, and the lining shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a pattern for sewing a left-handmitten of the present invention to fit the hand of a typical 3-year oldchild. The dimensions of each piece are shown in Table 2. Based on thefollowing description and FIG. 5, the worker skilled in the art wouldunderstand how to make a right-hand mitten and how to adjust thedimensions to suit any size mitten of the present invention.

In this embodiment, cuff member (25) of FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a cuffpiece (210) and a ¼ inch elastic (200) of length (205). Cuff piece (210)is made of a waterproof, water-resistant or water repelling material,such as nylon, has an overall arch shape, with upper arch dimension(215), lower arch dimension (217) and width (218). In this embodiment,the elastic (200) is sewn into the larger arch opening of the cuff piece(210).

The wrist band (40) embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a ¼inch elastic band sewn into a rectangular strip (220), with ahook-and-loop fastener (230 and 250) at one extremity of the strip (220)such as Velcro™, and a tab (240) sewn onto the other extremity of thestrip (220). In one embodiment, the strip (220) is waterproof,water-resistant or water repelling. When assembled, the wrist band (40)is about 7 inches in length, and can stretch to about 9 inches inlength.

The hand portion (55) of FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a backside piece (260),a palm surface piece (270) and a thumb piece (280), all of which may bemade of a waterproof, water-resistant or water repelling material. Thebackside piece (260) has a general closed U-shape as illustrated. Thepalm surface piece (270) has a U-shape lower portion, similar to theU-shape portion of the backside piece (260), and an upper portion (275)that includes material to cover the thumb. This upper portion (275)remains essentially within the width margin (274) of the lower portion.In this embodiment, the mid-point of the upper portion (275) ispositioned at position (276) from one edge of the palm surface piece(270). Palm surface piece (270) may be made of a rubberized nylon orother suitable material.

The thumb piece (280) has a lower portion in a general rectangular shapeand an upper portion (285) that includes material to partially cover thethumb. The upper portion (285) of the thumb piece (280) remains withinthe width margin (286) of the lower rectangular portion. In theillustrated embodiment, the mid-point of the upper portion (285) ispositioned at position (287) from one edge of the thumb piece (280). Thepositioning of the two upper portions (275, 285) within their respectivewidth margins (274, 286) ensures the placement of the thumb member (20)adjacent the palm member (15). The thumb piece (280) is juxtaposed ontothe palm surface piece (270) in a manner such that the respective upperportions (285, 275) are aligned.

The lining of hand portion (55) can be attached such as by sewing,according to the pattern embodiment shown in FIG. 6. Examples ofdimensions for pieces (300, 330, 350) from FIGS. 5 and 6 are shown inTable 2.

TABLE 2 Pattern dimensions (inches) Part Dimensions 205 8 215 14.75 2179.25 218 5.5 225 11 226 2.25 231 1.25 236 1 245 2.5 255 5 262 4.5 263 3264 5.5 272 5.75 274 4.5 276 3 282 4.75 284 2.75 286 4.5 287 3 310 5 3153.5 320 2.75 335 5.75 340 4.25 355 4.5 360 2.5 370 4.25

Piece (300) is of the same general shape as backside piece (260), buthas slightly smaller dimensions. Similarly, piece (330) is of the samegeneral shape as palm surface piece (270), with slightly smallerdimensions. Finally, piece (350) is of the same general shape as thumbpiece (280), but with slightly smaller dimensions. All three liningpieces (300, 330, 350) are made of insulating material, such as fleece,an ultra-thin lining or a mixture of fleece and an ultra-thin lining.Piece (350) is juxtaposed onto piece (330) so that the respective upperportions line up, and are then attached, such as by sewing. Pieces (330)and (350) are then attached to piece (300) to form the assembled liningof the hand portion (55).

Backside piece (260) is attached, such as by sewing, onto palm surfacepiece (270) and thumb piece (280) to form a shell of the hand portion(55) of FIGS. 1 and 2. The assembled lining is then inserted into theshell of the hand portion (55); both are attached, such as by sewing,onto the elasticised cuff member (25) at seam (35). The assembled wristband (40) is then sewn onto the mitten; preferably on the mitten's palmside at about the centre of the seam (35), at attachment location (50).

An embodiment of the assembled mitten of the present invention isdepicted in FIGS. 7 a and 7 b, and example dimensions are listed inTable 3.

TABLE 3 Assembled Mitten Dimensions (inches) Part Description Dimensions400 Cuff elastic circumference  8-14 410 Cuff circumference 12-14 420Length of elastic wristband 6-9 430 Length of thumb portion 3 440Vertical position of thumb portion 2.5 450 Horizontal position of thumbportion 2 460 Vertical position of thumbnail 0.75 470 Cuff length 4-5480 Width of hand portion backside   3-3.5 490 Length of palm member 4-5

The foregoing has constituted a description of various embodimentsshowing how the invention may be applied and put into use. Theseembodiments are only exemplary. The invention in its broadest, and morespecific aspects, is further described and defined in the claims whichnow follow.

These claims, and the language used therein, are to be understood interms of the variants of the invention that have been described. Theyare not to be restricted to such variants, but are to be read ascovering the full scope of the invention as is implicit within theinvention and the disclosure that has been provided herein.

1. A child's mitten comprising: a thumb member and a palm member joinedtogether to form a hand portion; insulation attached to an inner side ofsaid hand portion; a cuff member comprising an opening with a firstelasticised member attached about the perimeter of said opening; saidhand portion joined to said cuff member; and a second elasticised membermounted externally on a wrist portion of said mitten, wherein saidsecond elasticised member is capable of being detachably secured arounda child's wrist.
 2. The child's mitten of claim 1, wherein said secondelasticized member is mounted on a palm side of said seam.
 3. Thechild's mitten of claim 2, wherein said second elasticized member ismounted about a central position of said palm side of said seam.
 4. Thechild's mitten of claim 1, wherein said first elasticised member is sewninto said perimeter of said opening.
 5. The child's mitten of claim 1,wherein said elasticised member is detachably secured around saidchild's wrist with a hook-loop fastener.
 6. The child's mitten of claim1, wherein said insulation is selected from the group consisting offleece, an ultra-thin lining, and a combination of both.
 7. The child'smitten of claim 1, wherein said thumb member comprises an inner surfaceand an outer surface; said palm member comprises a palm surface and abackside surface; and wherein said inner surface of said thumb member ispositioned adjacent to said palm surface of said palm portion.
 8. Thechild's mitten of claim 1, wherein said hand portion comprises a firstouter shell and said cuff member comprises a second outer shell; whereinboth outer shells are waterproof, water-resistant or water repelling. 9.The child's mitten of claim 8, wherein said first outer shell comprisesrubberized nylon.
 10. The child's mitten of claim 8, wherein said secondouter shell comprises nylon.
 11. A child's mitten comprising: a thumbmember and palm member joined together to form a hand portion; said handportion comprising insulation and a first waterproof outer shell; a cuffmember comprising a second waterproof outer shell having an opening witha first elasticised member enclosing said opening, wherein said firstelasticised member is sewn into said opening; said hand portion joinedto said cuff member at a seam; and a second elasticised member mountedexternally on a palm side of said seam, wherein said second elasticisedmember is capable of being detachably secured around a child's wrist.12. A pattern for forming a child's mitten, comprising: an elasticizedcuff member, a wrist band and a hand member; said elasticised cuffmember being formed from a first water-resistant material having ageneral arc shape; said wrist band comprising a strip of material havinga general rectangular shape, a hook-and-loop fastener and an elastic;said hand member comprising a shell and a lining; said shell beingformed from a second water-resistant material, comprising a backsidemember, a palm surface member and a thumbside member; said backsidemember having a general closed U-shape; said palm surface member havinga lower portion that is a general closed U-shape and an upper portionhaving a general thumb shape; said thumbside member having a lowerportion that is a general rectangular shape and an upper portion havinga general thumb shape; said lining comprising insulation material of thesame general shape as said backside member, said palm surface member andsaid thumbside member.
 13. The pattern of claim 12, wherein said wristband further comprises a tab at an extremity of said wrist band.
 14. Thepattern of claim 12, wherein said water-resistant material is nylon. 15.The pattern of claim 12, wherein said palm surface is made of rubberizednylon.